My Burrito or I am really angry at myself for having to write this post twice

So I had a whole post written up to post with pictures I took at the Arboretum. Somehow I managed to delete the entire post. I love wasting my time. Cause I've just got so much of it to waste. Yeah.

Anyhow here are the pictures of My burrito:

Blockette loved to play in this fountain and throw the rocks to make a big splash. One of the other moms there gave me the lemon face because her and her precious child got a few droplets of water on them. What a poopy pants. It wasn't hot, but breezy and sunny. A soaking child would have dried in 10 minutes. I know this because Blockette got soaked playing with the fountain in the picture below.

This fountain was a huge marble ball that had water under it that made the ball spin perpetually. Kids would stand on the base and either try to get it to stop spinning or make it spin faster. My lovely child thought it was great to lay on the ball. When I thought she was near becoming a prune I told her it was time to go and eat lunch. It took us 1o min to go back to the car, get our picnic lunch and walk to the picnic area. She was bone dry by the time we sat down. Take that lemon face lady!

After we finished eating Blockette saw this girl jumping off this large rock. Blockette is far from being a dare devil but this girl was enjoying herself so much that lil miss scaredy cat wanted in on the fun too. Blockette only jumped from the lower parts of the rock. She was too leery to try the highest part. She'd get up there and then change her mind and walk back down to the other side.

Turns out the other girl just started kindergarten as well. Dontcha love their crazy faces they are making for the camera. After the fun of lunch and not breaking any bones, we headed out to check out the Steel roots sculpture display. On the way, we came across this hedge garden.

I guess it's one of the oldest hedges on public display in the U.S. Blockette thought it was cool enough to snap a picture of. Although, I think she was more interested in the flowers than the hedge itself.

Below is one of the Steel roots sculptures. Blockette's pictures of this turned out much better than mine. I wanted to post this one because Blockette gives a good sense of scale.

This was the last sculpture we looked at. I had to beg her to let me take her picture under it. The only was I could convince her to let me take her picture, was to let her take mine. Oh that picture won't be seeing the light of day. It was way too special for the general public. (insert eye roll here.)

After we looked, and photographed all the sculptures, I decided it was time to call it a day. We were both exhausted. On the way out I had to take a pic of this flower. It's just a happy vibrant pink. A perfect end to a fun day. I'm really looking forward to our next "burrito" trip.

Our Burrito

Last Wednesday, Blockette and I went to the Morton Arboretum. I figured it would be a fun thing for us to do together on her last day of summer vacation. I had told her Tuesday night that we were going to a huge garden place to have some fun. The next morning at breakfast she asked, "Mommy when are we going to Our Burrito? Art Burrito? Oh, what is it called again?" It had been 7 or 8 years since I'd been there and a lot had changed. They have this huge children's garden and maze that they didn't have before. (Yes, we did get lost in the maze, but Blockette was able to get us out the way we came. Seriously, I could get lost in a wet paper bag.)

I used to pass by the Arboretum every day on my way to and from work, back in the day. I never realized that the Morton referred to the Mortons, of Morton brand Salt. Duh. I guess the whole Arboretum used to be one of the Morton estates. This place is huge. I cannot imagine living somewhere where you have such an enormous back yard!!!!
Blockette and I only covered a tiny portion of the grounds. Our plans are to go back at various points of the year to see how the area changes with the seasons. There is so much to see that I think by the time we saw everything they would have changed what was planted so we'd have to go back and see everything all over again!I feared Blockette might get bored, so I let her use Mrblocko's little digital camera he bought for work ages ago. He has since changed jobs and doesn't need it. I figured, he never uses it, why not let Blockette have some fun with it. Turns out, his camera is way better than mine. It has some sort of stabilizing feature which is great for a girl who can't sit still for more than 2 seconds.All the pictures on this post were taken by Blockette. She took a ton and most of them were in focus and had awesome composition. These were my favorites.(This last one is my absolute favorite. I love how the flowers in the distance are in focus and the ones up close are blurry.)

Thankful Thursday 25

I missed posting yesterday because it was a VERY busy and important day. The First Day of School, doncha know. Yesterday was Kindergarten Roundup. Blockette had her orientation, and I had mine. Two hours of sitting through listening to various school officials talk about the school may seem boring, but the time went by very quickly.

Today is her first complete day of kindergarten. She will be riding the bus home for the first time ever.

I screwed up this morning and did not allow for enough time to get to school. Halfway there I realized I forgot the name tag she was supposed to have. So I ran back like some crazy woman. We got there just as the late bell was ringing. I felt like a horrible mother.

So today I am thankful-
1.) I didn't have to check her into the office to get a late pass.
2.) Mrblocko was there with me
3.) I waited until Blockette was inside the building before I had my hysterical crying fit.
4.) All the other parents had left and didn't see us arriving late and my subsequent waterworks.
5.) I will know for Monday to leave earlier, and not forget the stupid name tag.

Basic Hamburgers

We've been making lots and lots of burgers this summer, thanks to having a grill that actually cooks the food without burning it. What a difference that makes. I like charred food, but charred is different from burnt and over cooked.

When we had my in-laws over for Blockette's birthday Mrblocko wanted to have burgers for dinner. Since we've had so many different types of burgers this summer, I told him he needed to be a bit more specific.

He asked, "Can we just have plain burgers?"

I said, "Just plain hamburgers? Meat with nothing else? Won't that taste a bit bland?"

Mrblocko replied, "Well, look on the internet and find something, that has a bit of seasoning, but is really basic."

So I did a search and came up with 10 different possiblities. Mrblocko found something wrong with all of them, until he came to the last one, which I call the no frills tasty hamburger.

Here is the recipe:
1 1/4 lb ground beef ( 20% fat)
3 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp montreal steak seasoning

mix, form into patties, and cook to your desired doneness.

They were exactly what we were looking for. Personally, I prefer burgers to have more seasoning, but they were very tasty and moist. I'll be making these again when Mrblocko gets a craving for plain old hamburgers.

Banana Split Cake

Sometimes, baking two cakes in August gets to be overwhelming, especially with the excessive heat we've been having this year. Last year, I baked Blockette an enormous 6 layer rainbow cake, and myself a No bake cookie dough pie. This year, I used the oven to make the stargazer pie for my birthday, so it was Blockette's turn to have a no bake dessert.

I remembered seeing a recipe for a Banana Split Ice Cream Cake on Our Best Bites earlier this summer. I thought this would be the perfect dessert for the little munchkin. I told her about it and she was not impressed. Then, I showed her the step by step pictures on the Our Best Bites website, and used my Jedi mind tricks. That did it. She was convinced.

The cake was easy enough to make that Blockette could help me. Although, I think her favorite part was sneaking the strawberry and banana slices. (One for the cake, one for her mouth.)
The cake was a huge hit with everyone. I made only one minor mistake. I was worried the cake would be too hard to cut, so I let it thaw out in the fridge for a few hours. I must have let it thaw for a bit too long because the ice cream was more soupy than solid.

My in-laws really raved about the dessert. My father-in-law, who is notoriously picky, even had a second piece. You know it's good if he wants more!

The in-laws tried to get it out of me how I made the cake. I told them it was a secret. None of them are internet savvy, so they don't ever read this blog. I wanted them to be amazed with my culinary genius.

Then Blockette piped up, "Oh it is easy, you just look at the recipe on the Internet. What's the name of the website you used again?" Way to go and blow my cover kiddo! I suppose I'll let her get away with something like that. It was, after all, her birthday. If you can't get away with being a stinker on your birthday, when can you?


Frozen Banana Split Squares from Our Best Bites
12 3.5 oz. ice cream sandwiches
3-4 medium bananas
1/2-1 c. hot fudge sauce
1/2-1 c. caramel sauce
1 c. chopped maraschino cherries or sliced strawberries (more or less depending on personal taste)
8 oz. frozen whipped topping (like Cool Whip), thawed
1 small can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 Butterfinger bars, crushed (or 1/2 c. chocolate-covered toffee bits, nuts, etc.)

Line the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish with the ice cream sandwiches, cutting them to fit as necessary. Slice the bananas into pieces about 1/4″ thick and arrange over the sandwiches. Spread the hot fudge and caramel sauces over the bananas. Sprinkle with cherries or strawberries (or both, if desired). Combine the thawed frozen whipped topping with the can of undrained pineapple and spread over everything. Sprinkle with crushed candy bars and freeze for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, cut into 12 pieces and serve immediately, freezing any leftovers.

Things I Didn't Know Five Years Ago

Today is Blockette's birthday. Five years ago I had no idea of all thing things that motherhood would bring. Here are a few of the things I have come to discover:

1. When I was pregnant, the smell of bananas triggered morning sickness. The smell still makes me feel green.
2. I'm stuck with these stretch marks.
3. Green yogurt can never be completely washed off the ceiling.
4. I may be back to my pre pregnancy weight, but it has redistributed itself in a way that is less aesthetically pleasing.
5.All that sleep I got when I was pregnant was not because I was tired, it was my body stockpiling for the lack of sleep in the years to come.
6. I will never be able to sleep through the night without having to go to the bathroom.
7. I'll never be able to sneeze without having to go to the bathroom.
8. Those "Hallmark" commercials that made me weep while I was pregnant, still make me cry just as hard.
9. I'd still be experiencing that same helpless "I don't think I can do this" feeling I did when Blockette was a newborn.
10. Just how embarrassing public tantrums are.
11. I thought parenting would get easier with more experience. It would if the rules of the game didn't keep changing.
12. I used to think "Things will get easier when she (insert random milestone here...IE could talk, feed herself, doesn't need diapers)" This is a lie. All you do is trade one difficult thing for another. (IE once they talk they start to mouth off, once they are potty trained they need to use every bathroom they come across.)
13. I foolishly thought the sassy mouth wouldn't start until elementary school.
14. I know the parent's curse works. Whatever you do to your parents, your children will do to you. What I wasn't aware of was that I'd get the joy of experiencing what my husband did to his parents as well.
15. The spontaneous "I love you" makes you feel like your heart is so full it will burst.
16. The "I hate you" makes your heart feel empty, even though you know they don't mean it.
17. When your kid has a 102 fever and they throw up all over you, you won't care.
18. The only time I'd get to go into the bathroom by myself is when Blockette is a sleep.
19. It is impossible to have an uninterrupted phone conversation.
20. The things you hate the most about yourself you will see magnified in your child.
21. My mother is the smartest person in the world.
22. My mother should be nominated for sainthood.
23. Blockette is not a mini me.
24. I function much better than I thought when sleep deprived.
25. I have to work much harder to control my temper.
26. There is always room for Jello.

Thankful Thursday 24

It's been a rough week, a battle of wills between Blockette and I. I've been doing my bestest to not wish away the days because I've heard it said many times, once your kid starts elementary school, you blink and they are headed off to college. That being said, the thing that keeps repeating in my head is thank God school starts in one week. I love my little monkey, but a few hours apart will do us both a world of good.